Echo Dot for Kids Raises Concerns for Lawmakers
Amazon started shipping its Echo Dot for kids last week, and it’s already raised concerns for two lawmakers. Massachusetts’ Senator Ed Markey and Congressman Joe Barton from Texas, sent a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos with several questions about the new Echo Dot Kids Edition. The letter included 12 questions that centered around privacy concerns.
The device sells for $79.99 and plays kid-friendly music, answers questions, and comes with parental controls. Amazon says it doesn’t share kids’ data with third parties like advertisers. Additionally, parents can listen to archives of their child’s voice requests via the Alexa app and delete them as they see fit.
But with GDPR on the horizon, privacy concerns around voice data will need to be addressed more directly.
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